Pug
Pug of Crydee, also known as Milamber (after being discovered as a magician on the Tsurani world of Kelewan), is the most powerful magician on his home world of Midkemia. He would succeed Macros as the Black Sorcerer and master of Sorcerer's Isle. Early life Pug was left as an orphan on the road until a woman found him and took him to the abbey of Dala. Priests brought him to the Castle Crydee, not having the means to raise him. Duke Borric conDoin declared him a freeman. Pug grew as a kitchen boy in the small town of Crydee, and was taught to read by head cook Megar and his wife Magya who treated Pug like their son. Tomas, Megar and Magya's biological son, was Pug's best friend. During a stormy night, he was introduced to the magician Kulgan, who, by use of a magical crystal sphere, noticed a great potential in Pug. Soon after, on the day of Choosing, Kulgan picked him for his apprentice. However, although Kulgan sensed his potential and ability of the theory of magic, Pug was troubled by his own inability to perform spells. Apprentice During an excursion, Pug saved his childhood fantasy, Princess Carline conDoin's life from two trolls by casting a spell. This was considered impossible at the time as magic required some sort of vessel to work through and Pug had done it without one. As a reward, he was granted the title of Squire and the estate of Forest Deep. After the incident, Pug started dining next to Princess Carline, who generally became more open and close to him, to Squire Roland's dismay. When Duke Borric decided to warn the Free Cities and Krondor about an imminent Tsurani invasion, Pug begged Kulgan to come along with Tomas. The day before his departure, the Princess called both Pug and Roland into her garden, where they ended up having a brawl. Pug unconsciously cast a spell that caused Roland to strangle himself, but prevented this when he realized what he had done. Then, Pug and Roland calmly discussed their differences. Pug decided that Roland truly loved Carline and that he should remove himself from the competition for Carline's hand. That evening, Roland, Pug and Tomas, over cups of beer, swore to be friends from then on. The next day Pug and Tomas rode nestled between twenty pair of mounted guards and the baggage train at the rear. After days of travel through the Green Heart, they encountered moredhel who ambushed them; the soldiers suffered many casualties until Kulgan used a magic of mist that hid them. Eventually they reached the Grey Towers and settled in a cave. They were attacked by goblins and joined soon after by a band of dwarves led by Dolgan Tagarson. Dolgan proposed to guide the band through Mac Mordain Cadal so that they could reach Bordon. After two days of marching in the mines, they witnessed wondrous caves. On their way out however, they were attacked by a wraith. Again with the help of Kulgan, the team fled towards the exit, but Tomas was left behind. When they went out, Dolgan insisted that he go back and seek out Tomas if he was alive. Eventually Borric and his team continued towards Bordon to meet Talbott Kilrane. They encountered Natalese Rangers who led them into the city, but the ship merchant reassured the prefect he expected them. After a pleasant stay and rest in his mansion, the team sailed with one of Talbott's personal vessels, Storm Queen to Krondor. After two weeks of sailing in the Bitter Sea, a great storm hit them, and Captain Abram decided to turn. Queg would be impossible, and ended on the Insula Beata; after 3 days of staying while the sailors repaired the Queen, Pug accompanied Arutha, Kulgan and Meecham as they explored the island avoiding the tower of Macros.They found the ancient abandoned Villa Beata, where Pug had an encounter with a hermit who was none other than Macros the Black. thumb|Meeting little [[Anita conDoin]] When finally they reached Krondor, Pug narrated his experience with the alien ship to Prince Erland; he also met Princess Anita, who was pledged to marry Arutha. However the meeting was not how Borric wished since Erland had no authority to muster the Armies of the West and they were to go and ask the permission of the King himself, accompanied by the Royal Krondorian Lancers. On their way to Salador, they encountered a storm of unusual intensity in the mountains west of Darkmoor and stayed at an inn outside the village. Later they fell upon a village being troubled by bandits which they drove away. The villagers welcomed and hosted the Duke's party, offering food and beds. In Salador, the group was hosted by Duke Kerus, who shared his concerns to the Duke about the mental state of the King, and his tense relationship to Prince Erland. Pug was with them and heard all of it. On his trip to Rillanon to gain King Rodric's aid for the Western Realm they soon realized King Rodric was mad and under counsel of Guy du Bas-Tyra and could gain no help from him. Later while they planned how they could persuade the King, the invasion began. Before Guy du Bas-Tyra could arrive and advise the King, he unexpectedly grants Borric the command of the Armies of the West. Borric (followed by Kulgan, Meecham and Pug) go to Ylith and then join Brucal near LaMut to aid him with the defenses. During a mission to study the enemy lines, Pug was captured by the Tsurani. Slavery Four years pass, and Pug is working as a slave in a swamp camp on Kelewan. A newcomer, Laurie of Tyr-Sog, a minstrel, is the only other Midkemian he knows, as the others died from disease or were killed by their masters. When the Overseer Nogamu insists on cutting a rotted ngaggi tree, Pug falls and is almost drowned in the swamp trapped under a branch. Nogamu orders the other slaves to resume work and leave Pug; Laurie objects and Nogamu whips him. Hokanu, son of the 'Lord of the Shinzawai, ' determines that Nogamu's at fault, orders Pug and Laurie to be rested and cared for. Ashamed, Nogamu attempts that night to kill Pug with a knife, managing to injure him before Laurie grapples the man away. Nogamu is mortally wounded, but Hokanu has the Overseer hung in order to deny him an honorable death. Once they arrive in Jamar, they are introduced to Lord Kamatsu; Pug meets a slave girl, Katala. Soon after the household leaves for the Shinzawai estates in Silmani and on their way they stop by the Acoma estates, as Hokanu is courting Mara. There they are tended to by Kevin, whom Laurie recognizes as the son of the baron of Zūn. Finally the retinue is joined by Kasumi, returned from the war in Midkemia. There, Pug is tasked to teach Kasumi the Kings speech (language) and all details about the Kingdom's culture. Pug falls in love with Katala, and asks his Lords for permission to marry her, however his Lords have other plans for him and Laurie. Fumita, the former brother of the Lord Kamatsu, and a Great One, observes Pug using Lesser Path meditation during a visit. He questions Pug and learns that he had been apprenticed as a magician on Midkemia. He claims Pug for the Assembly, the brotherhood of Magicians. Great One Pug was cleansed of his memory by the teachers of the Assembly and after four years of training became a magician. He learned he was a gifted follower of the Greater Path, a magic unheard of upon Midkemia; Kulgan was a Lesser Path magician, the reason for his inability to teach Pug. Upon attaining the black Robes of a Great One, Pug was given the name Milamber. His teacher, Shimone, watched as Milamber passed his final test, standing upon a thin spire at the height of a storm while the history of the Empire of Tsuranuanni was revealed to him. There he was steeped in the first duty of a Great One, attaining the Black Robes: to serve the Empire. Milamber met his first friend in the assembly; Hochopepa, a shrewd magician who instructed Milamber in the pitfalls of Tsurani politics. Milamber, returned to the Shinzawai estate to claim Katala, and discovered he was a father of a son born during his absence. He also learned the Shinzawai were involved in a plot with the Emperor to force peace upon the Tsurani high council, which was dominated by the Warlord. Laurie was to guide Kasumi, who had by then mastered the language and customs of the Kingdom, to the King, bearing the Emperor’s offer of peace. Pug wished them well and took his wife and child to his new home in the hills around Ontoset, on the former property of the House Almach. One day, Milamber attended the Imperial Games, given by the Warlord to commemorate his glorious victory over Lord Borric. Milamber was shocked at the wanton cruelty, in particular the treatment of Midkemian prisoners. Enraged, he destroyed the arena in a show of astonishing magical power, shaming the Warlord and thereby throwing the politics of the Empire into shambles. Milamber then fled with Katala and William back through the rift to Midkemia. End of the Riftwar Eventually, the Kingdom and the Empire sued for peace. Being an important figure on both worlds, Pug was invited to act as a translator for King Lyam and Emperor Ichindar. When the peace talks broke down, Pug was on hand to urge Lyam to commit his entire army to secure the rift, despite his reluctance to be a party to treachery. He was found by Macros the Black, and the duo closed the rift permanently. In the process, Macros was assumed dead, but not before asking Pug to travel to Sorcerer's Isle once the war had ended. At the island, he was informed by Macros's major domo, the goblin-like Gathis, that Macros had bequeathed his library of magic to Pug. This, in addition to Duke Borric's gift of an island, eventually led to the founding of the first institution of magic in Midkemia. Pug was then made a Prince of the Kingdom and Duke of Stardock. Silverthorn One year after the end of the Riftwar, Pug was overseeing the construction of the academy on Stardock Island. When an assassination attempt on Arutha's wedding day struck Princess Anita instead, Pug utilizes his knowledge to delay her death for Arutha to find an antidote. When rumors of moredhel involvement surfaced, a seer, one of the many magicians who flocked to Pug's academy revealed a vision of the future, in which the moredhel invaded the Kingdom with help from an entity who spoke an ancient Tsurani dialect. The entity then reached beyond time and probability to strike down the seer. Shaken by the implications, Pug decided to take a risk and reopen the rift to Kelewan to search for answers. During a meeting with Hochopeppa, Pug was captured and taken prisoner by the agents of the new Warlord. The Warlord had capitalized on the Emperor's shaming at the peace talks at the end of the Riftwar, and had the Emperor confined under house arrest. Stripped of his Greater Path magic, Pug then did what no Greater Path magician had ever achieved, and used the Lesser Path magic to escape, and to free the Emperor. After being given a chance to explain, Pug was allowed access to the Assembly's library, where he found references to an ancient civilization under the polar icecap of Kelewan. Armed with this knowledge, he set out to find, to his surprise, a branch of the elven race, called the Eldar, living in a magical forest Elvardein under the ice. He would spend the next year being tutored by their leader, Acaila, on how to use his magic. Darkness at Sethanon Upon completion of his training, he sought the aid of his old friend Tomas, to summon a dragon, to begin their search throughout the universe for Macros the Black. They traveled to the edge of the universe, where lies the City Forever. Between Pug's magic and Tomas's powers, they overcome many obstacles in their path with ease, eventually finding Macros in a section of the city, called the Garden. However, a trap was sprung the moment they entered the Garden. A time trap, Macros explained, set by the Enemy to hurtle them backwards through time, since they knew that the Enemy was not defeated in the past. With Macros's magic stripped, Pug used every last bit of his knowledge and power to manipulate the time trap, accelerating their journey into the past, until they traveled beyond the beginning of time, thus ending the trap. From their vantage point in the City Forever, they watched as the universe began with a Big Bang. Now free from the Garden, the three flew on Ryath to a place called the "Hall of Worlds", a place with which they can travel quickly across long distances to Midkemia. Macros again guided Pug, to accelerate them through time, to arrive in the present once more. While Pug was working his magic, Macros explained his actions and motivations throughout the Riftwar, including engineering the events that would lead to Tomas being a Valheru, and Pug gaining knowledge in the Greater Path magic. All this to prepare Midkemia for a coming battle against the Enemy, revealed to be the combined life forces of the ancient Valheru. They sought to return to Midkemia to retrieve an artifact, the Lifestone, from which they may reconstitute themselves, at the cost of every life on the planet. Finally arriving in Midkemia at the correct time, they discovered that the Kingdom city of Sethanon, located above the Lifestone chamber, was under attack by moredhel, led by Murmandamus. Pug quickly traveled to Stardock and requested for reinforcements from the Tsurani through the rift, and from the Keshian garrison of a nearby city. Pug brought Shimone and Hochopeppa with him to Sethanon, needing their magical skills and their familiarity with Tsurani history about the Enemy. Arriving at the Lifestone chamber, Pug and the Tsurani Great Ones begin fortifying the chamber to prevent a rift from opening. The arrival of Murmandamus in the chamber heralded an increase in pressure, as something sought to breach the dimensional barrier and access Midkemia. At the moment of the moredhel's death, Murmandamus's accumulated magic opened a rift for a brief moment, before Pug and the Tsurani Great Ones closed it again. A sliver of the Enemy had slipped through, however, and begins battling Tomas for the Lifestone. When Tomas defeated his adversary, he also inadvertently activated the Lifestone, resulting in a massive tear through space, allowing hundreds of dragon-riding beings to enter the skies above Midkemia. The Lifestone, however, begins absorbing them, until Tomas remained the only Dragon Lord in the area. Post Riftwar After establishing a school for magical study on the island of Stardock, he eventually severs all ties with the Kingdom of the Isles, and realizing that Nalar (the God of Evil) could one day return, he and his closest friends and confidants begin an organization known as the Conclave of Shadows following the conclusion of the Serpentwar. During his life he has had four children. One, Gamina is adopted. His first son William, did not wish to train as a Magician, despite the fact that Pug hints that he has the potential to become a powerful one, possibly even surpassing Pug. William eventually leaves Stardock and becomes quite a prominent soldier, rising quickly, though his relationship with Pug is rocky at best. Gamina marries Jimmy the Hand, the two die together when Jimmy destroys a good proportion of the evacuated city of Krondor in order to destroy the invading army which was led by the Demon captain who impersonated the emerald queen. Later, long after Katala's death from an unspecified illness, he marries Miranda, the daughter of Macros, and they have two more children, Magnus and Caleb. Magnus grows to be an amazing magician, similar to his father; however, Caleb has no apparent magical talent, yet still works for the Conclave. Instead he is sent to train with the elves. Conclave of Shadows Pug is currently the leader of the Conclave of Shadows and according to Nakor more powerful than Macros ever was. The Conclave stands as the last line of defense against the evil forces that constantly plague Midkemia, and to a greater extent, the first realm. The primary antagonist to the Conclave, and Pug's nemesis, is the evil necromancer Leso Varen, once known as Sidi. Pug first confronts Sidi about a decade after the first Riftwar. The evil necromancer's powers prevent his soul from dying when his body is destroyed, allowing him to constantly return in other bodies to harass the Conclave. Pug's struggle to permanently destroy Leso Varen became a vital aspect of the Darkwar. Darkwar Following the discovery of a mysterious object called a Talnoy by Kaspar of Olasko, Pug is warned of an impending invasion by an alien race known as the Dasati from the second realm. Pug, along with his son Magnus, Nakor, and the mysterious Ralan Bek, journeys to this second realm in an attempt to prevent this invasion. Meanwhile, the evil sorcerer Leso Varen, apparently working in concert with the Dasati, continues his efforts to destroy the Conclave and become the supreme ruler of Midkemia. At the end of the Darkwar, Leso Varen is finally killed by Nakor, who removes a black crystal from his heart called "The Godkiller", and uses that crystal to destroy the Dread Lord who was using the Dasati to invade the realm of Midkemia in an attempt to enter that realm and absorb all life from it, as it had done in previous realms - as shown to Pug by Banath, the Midkemian god of trickery. As Nakor threw the Godkiller crystal towards the Dread Lord, Pug, who was on the planet Kelewan where the invasion was occurring, created a rift between Kelewan and its moon, destroying the planet as the Dread Lord entered the realm through the "tunnel" he had created.Wrath Of A Mad God Demonwar During the Demonwar, Pug's wife Miranda, his son Caleb, and much of Caleb's adopted family are murdered during a demon attack on the village on Sorcerer's Isle. Pug and Magnus both grieve at the loss, but realize they must continue on and keep fighting, or everything they know will be destroyed. Pug knows that he will continue seeing everyone he loves die before him, as this was the bargain he made with Lims-Kragma, the Goddess of Death, after being wounded by the Demon Captain during the invasion of the Emerald Queen's army.Rides a Dread Legion Chaoswar Pug once again saves Midkemia by pushing back the Dread invasion at the Taredhel city of E'Bar. Pug dies at the end of the Chaoswar after trading his life in order to resurrect his son Magnus. However, Pug is reincarnated as a boy named Phillip afterwards. Appearance Pug was a short man, 5'8".http://crydee.com/raymond-feist/faq/2609/how-tall-are-kingdom-men Pug has dark hair and dark eyes, overall is described as plain-looking. When he gets older a short beard frames his face. Children William conDoin William is Pug's first child born to Katala on the Tsurani home world of Kelewan as Pug was imprisoned there as a slave during the Riftwar. Pug and William didn't speak for many years after William wished to leave Stardock to become a soldier under Prince Arutha's command, Pug believed William should remain on Stardock to continue with his studies. Against his fathers wishes William left the island and became a solider rising quickly through the ranks. It was not until the eve of the Serpentwar's attack on Krondor did Pug and William finally make peace. *Lieutenant of the Prince's Household Guard *Captain of the Prince's Household Guard *Knight Marshal of Krondor *Commander of the Armies of the West (one-time) *Prince of the Kingdom William was killed in the Serpentwar when the Emerald Queen's army overwhelmed the palace. Gamina conDoin Gamina is Pug's adopted child, she arrived on Stardock with the blind seer Rogen. When Rogen passed away Gamina remained at Stardock under the care of Katala and Pug it was here she remained until she met Baron James when he was visiting the island. She has the power to speak with her mind and read people's thoughts. Gamina is killed during the Serpentwar when she remains behind in Krondor's sewers with her husband Duke James. As they were the last to climb out, James had rigged the sewers with naphtha which unfortunately detonated before they could escape. *Countess of Krondor (wife of Earl James) *Duchess of Rillanon *Duchess of Krondor *Princess of the Royal House of conDoin Magnus conDoin Born to Miranda, Magnus was born with natural magical ability, he was brought up and trained on Sorcerer's Isle as a member of the Conclave of Shadows Caleb conDoin Born to Miranda and Pug and without magical ability Caleb felt out of place on Sorcerer's Isle and thus went to live with the elves for a number of years. When he returned from the elves Caleb became a member of the Conclave of Shadows. Caleb married Marie, who adopted three children, Tad, Zane and Jommy. Caleb and Marie died in the attack on Sorcerer's IsleIn Rides a Dread Legion, along with their mother. Their bodies were never identified as they were burned beyond recognition. Romances Katala Katala is Pug's first wife and the mother of William and adopted mother of Gamina. Pug first met Katala on the Tsurani home world of Kelewan where they were both slaves for the Shinzawai family. When Pug was discovered to be a Greater Path Magician and taken away from the Shinzawai estate for four years to complete his training. Upon completion and becoming a Great One, Pug returned to the Shinzawai estate to free Katala and discovered that she had borne him a son in his absence. He married Katala and moved his new family to his own estate. It was long, however, before they fled to Midkemia after Pug destroyed the Imperial Arena. After the Riftwar, the family settled on the island of Stardock, where Pug was building an Academy for magicians. They adopted Gamina as a daughter after the death of her guardian. Due to Pug's adoption, she was the Duchess of Stardock and Princess of the Royal House. Katala fell ill and was taken back to Thuril, her homeland, to die near the beginning on Prince of the Blood.Prince of the Blood Miranda Miranda is Pug's second wife and the mother of children Caleb and Magnus. Pug and Miranda first met in an illusion of Halls of the Gods after Miranda went looking for Pug in the build up to the Serpent War. Serpentwar SagaConclave of ShadowsDarkwar Saga. Miranda met her untimely end when a demon that pretends to be dead kills her.In Rides a Dread Legion Appearances *''Magician (Apprentice/Master)'' *''Silverthorn'' *''A Darkness at Sethanon'' *''Servant of the Empire'' *''Mistress of the Empire'' *''Prince of the Blood'' *''The King's Buccaneer'' *''Betrayal at Krondor'' *''Krondor: the Betrayal'' *''Shadow of a Dark Queen'' *''Rise of a Merchant Prince'' *''Rage of a Demon King'' *''Shards of a Broken Crown'' *''Talon of the Silver Hawk'' *''King of Foxes'' *''Exile's Return'' *''Flight of the Nighthawks'' *''Into a Dark Realm'' *''Wrath of a Mad God'' *''Rides a Dread Legion'' *''At the Gates of Darkness'' *''A Kingdom Besieged'' *''A Crown Imperiled'' *''Magician's End'' References Category:males category:humans Category:Noble Category:Magicians Category:Great Ones Category:Members of the Conclave of Shadows Category:Islemen Category:Characters